
QO ceiai;®. 



SERMON 



ON THE 



OPEEATIONS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE 



AS SEEK IN THE 



TO THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. 



PREACHED AT 



JOY STREET CHURCH, xVPRIL 10, 1870, 



Key. ALEXANDER 'ELLIS. 



PRINTED BY DAVID CL 



BOSTON: 

APP & SON :m WASHINGTON ST. 




^ SERMON 



OPERATIONS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE: 

AS SEEN IN THK 

ABOLITION OF SLAVERY, AND IN THE ENACTMENT AND 

RATIFICATION OF THE FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT 

TO THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. 



PREACHED AT 

JOY STREET CHURCH, APRIL 10, 1870, 

BY 

Rev. ALEXANDER ELLIS, 



J 
BOSTON: 

PRINTED BY DAVID CLAPP & SON 334 WASHINGTON ST. 

18^0. 






Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1870, by 

ALEXANDER ELLIS, 

In the Clerk's Oflace for the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. 



■«v>:. 



5t- 



SERMO N 



The operations of Divine Providence: as seen in the 
Abolition op Slavery and in the Ratification of the 
Fifteenth Amendment to the Federal Constitution. 



Num. xxiii. 23. 



" According to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What 
hath God wrought ! " 

Whatever may have been the fault of Balaam on the 
ground of covetousness, he is at least entitled to our respect 
and esteem, on the score of candor. He told Balak frankly, 
at the outset, tliat he had no power to utter anything, be- 
yond what God should dictate to him, hence the dignity and 
sublimity of his prophecy. None of the old prophets have 
recorded any thing more lofty and hopeful for Israel than 
Balaam. 

The circumstance which gave rise to the words of 
the text. 

The point of time at which these words were uttered, was 
towards the close of the wanderings of the children of Israel 
in their way from Egypt to the land of Canaan. 

They have now reached Kadesh,in the wilderness of Zin; 
where they also tarry for a season. An advance, however, 
is again ordered, and they have thus before them an imme- 
diate prospect of entering upon their long-coveted possession. 

But between Kadesh and Canaan several powerful nations 
are located, whose attitude towards Israel will necessarily 
affect their onward progress, and who must therefore, be either 
propitiated, avoided, or subdued. The first of these nations 
with whom thev have to deal is Edom. Their nearest route 



to Canaan lies right through the Edomitish countr}'. Now 
Edom was the brother of Israel — the one being descended 
from Esau, and the other from Jacob. And it miglit have 
been supposed that a frank and brotherly appeal from Israel 
to Edom, would have been met with a hearty and brotherly 
response. Such an appeal, therefore, does Moses now ad- 
dress to the King of Edom. Reminding him of the relations 
existing between the two nations ; and reciting the afflictions 
of the Israelites, both in Egypt and the Wilderness, he asks 
permission to pass through the countr3^ And that Edom 
might be no loser by the passage of the people through the 
land, Moses voluntarily promises that they shall not pass 
through the fields, or through the vineyards, or drink of the 
water of the wells ; but that they shall go by the king's high- 
way, turning neither to the right hand nor to the left, till 
they have passed the borders of the land. Nothing could 
be more conciliatory than his tone — nothing more reasonable 
than his proposition. The King of Edom, however, is in- 
exorable. Not only does he refuse the Israelites a passage 
through his territory, but threatens to come out against them 
with the sword, if they should attempt to pass througii his land. 

Now the Israelites had been strictly forbidden to meddle 
with the Edomites, because they were their brethren. Re- 
fused a passage, therefore, through the country of Edom, and 
equally forbidden, by the law of God, to force one, they make 
a circuit, and attem})t an entrance into Canaan by another 
line of march. 

This new route brought them in conflict with Arad, the 
Canaanite, who came out against them, and even so far pre- 
vailed against them, as to take some of them prisoners. 
Nevertheless, they cried unto the Lord in their distress, and 
He delivered the Canaanites into their hands. A considera- 
ble advance is thus secured. Step by step, with various in- 
cidents by the way, they jouruc}' forward to the Promised 
Land. 

' At lengtli, their peaceful progress is again ai'rested, by the 
liostile altitude of Siiion, king of tlie Amorites. To him 
Israel made the same overtures, as had been formerly made 
to Edom. Sihon refused to listen to these propositions; but 



gathering his forces together, went out against Israel and 
fought against him. The Israelites, however, utterly dis- 
comfited the Amorites, and took possession of their territory. 

By tills conquest they were now advanced to the border of 
the Amorites. But at this point they were compelled again 
to halt for a while ; for the border of the children of Amraon 
was strong, and their disposition warlike. Moreover, with 
the Amorites (as with the Edomitcs) the children of Israel 
were forbidden to wage war. ¥br Amnion also was related 
to Israel by their descent from Lot, the nephew of Abraliam. 

With Amnion was still farther associated Moab, the half 
brother of Amnion, Now Moab had been, at one time, a 
very prosperous and powerful nation, but had, of late, suffer- 
ed great reverses at the hands of the Amorites, who had 
vanquished them in war, and stripped them of their posses- 
sions. When therefore, Moab saw what Israel had done to 
the Amorites, they, not unnaturally, began to fear what 
might further befal them at the hands of so formidable a 
neighbor. But their fears were uncalled for, because like 
Edom and Amraon, Moab was protected from hostility on 
the part of Israel, by a special injunction from Jehovah. 

In these fears also shared another tribe residing in that 
neighborhood — the tribe of Midian, descended from Abra- 
ham, through Keturah, his second wife. 

With these three nations, then, together, had Israel now 
to deal : the Ammonites, the Moabites, and the Midianites. 
And it was just as Israel was meditating a further advance 
that these three nations, bound together by a certain com- 
munity of interest, as well as of relationship, conspired to 
offer them the stoutest resistance. It had already been 
shown, however, how hopeless it was for any nation to con- 
tend with Israel in arms. The strongest nations had proved 
themselves utterly unable to withstand their victorious career. 
A more subtle plan of dealing with this mighty people, there- 
fore, suggested itself to the allied conspirators. 

Far northward, in the land of Mesopotamia, dwelt a 
famous soothsayer and diviner, named Balaam. This man 
had won himself a great renown, by the successful practice 
of his art; and it was commonly believed that either his 



blessing or his malediction would work its own result on 
whomsoever it might be pronounced. Balak, the king of 
Moab, only reflected the popular belief concerning liioi; when 
he said, " I wot (I know) that he whom thou blessest is bless- 
ed and he whom thou cursest is cursed." 

To enlist the influence of Balaam, then, against the host of 
Israel seemed the most feasible way of overcoming them. 
Perhaps, where material v/eapons had failed, spiritual wea- 
pons might succeed. Moab therefore taking the lead in 
tlie matter — the Midianites heartily and actively co-operating 
in the scheme, and the Ammonites at least assenting to the 
same — an important embassy is despatched to Balaam, the 
son of Beor, to Pethor, in the land of Mesopotamia, entreat- 
ing him to come to the plains of Moab, to curse the Israel- 
ites ; the ambassadors bearing the rewards of divination in 
their hand. And this is the flattering message that they 
carried to him from Balak, the son of Zippor, king of Moab : 
"Behold there is a people come out from Egypt: behold 
they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against 
me. Come now, therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people ; 
for they are too mighty for me : peradventurc I shall pre- 
vail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out 
of tlie land : for I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, 
and he whom thou cursest is cursed." 

Truly it might be said of Israel, that " the heathen did 
' rage,' and the people did imagine vain things ; the kings of 
the earth set themselves, and the rulers took counsel together 
against the Lord, ojid against His Anointed." But He who 
sitteth in the heavens laughed them to scorn, and overruled 
their conspiracy to further the very cause they attempted to 
destroy. Balaam disappointed Balak, and instead of cursing 
the Israelites, he blessed them. Enraged at this Balak bids 
him neither to curse nor bless them at all ; and supposing 
that a change of locality might elTect a corresponding change 
in the prophet's conduct, he now takes him to a place where 
but a part of Israel can be seen — and here God compels 
him to pronounce the blessing more abundantly than before : 
" Surely," says he, " there is no enchantment against Jacob, 
neither is there any divination against Israel ; according to 



this time it sliall l)e said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath 
God wrought ! Behold the people shall rise up as a great 
lion, and lift up himself as a young lion ; he shall not lie 
down until he eat of the prey and drink of the blood of the 
slain." 

Analogy between the History of the Iseaelites of this 

PERIOD AND that OF THE FrEEDMEN OP AMERICA. 

My brethren, the History of the Jews, at the time when the 
words of the text were first uttered, is precisely like ours of 
to-day. Our history thus far has been one of vexed conflicts 
and hardships. Like Israel, we were conducted, in the year 
1G20, into base and cruel bondage. Then our little band, 
of outraged humanity, consisted of but nineteen souls. But 
in the order of time that little band became a gigantic host 
of four millions. 

The History of Slavery is written in blood. Its pages 
are yet soiled with the tears of many, whose groans are for- 
ever reverberating on the ears of callous-hearted Oppression. 
It is true that in 1787, Jefferson proclaimed, in terms of 
awful solemnity, that "all men are created equal, and en- 
dowed by their Creator with inherent and inalienable rights, 
among which are liberty, &c.," but his resolution was soon 
rejected. It is true that from a sense of justice, Washington 
emancipated his slaves by testament; while Franklin wrote 
against slavery, and Jay with others said Amen ; but fearing 
lest the bond of federation should be broken, none of them 
insisted on the destructiou of the then existing monster. It 
is true that in 1794 the Congress of the Nation prohibited 
the slave trade; and that in 1814 and 1842 treaties were 
made between England and the United States to that eflFect, 
but the latter denying the right of search, the whole thing 
became a farce ; for where negroes could not be clandestinely 
obtained, they were raised like horses, and then sold. And 
so this state of things continued during the whole of the first 
epoch of American slavery. 

The next epoch finds the country convulsed, on account of 
the " Missouri Compromise." Then it was a question whether 
Missouri was entitled to admission to the sisterhood of 



States, she having, in her Constitution, permitted tlie exist- 
ence of slavery within her borders. Twice the House re- 
fused to admit her ; twice the Senate voted for her admission. 
It was a vexed question. At length i\Ir. Cla}' offered a pro- 
position which was agreed to by Congress, accepted by the 
South and confirmed by the North. Thus Slavery lengthen- 
ed its borders. 

Next came the annexation of Texas, in 1845, affording 
another arena for the sacrifice of human blood. lu 1850, 
the immortal, yet infamous Fugitive Slave Law was passed. 
Thenceforward everyso called master could pursue and seize 
the fugitive slaves in the free States, IMassachusetts not ex- 
cepted. Thus Anthony Burns and William Craft were both 
pursued to the very heart of Boston ; happily however, the 
one was taken, but the other not. 

In 1854 Kansas was organized into a Territory; the fol- 
lowing year found it with a Legislature, from which emana- 
ted the edict that no one could be sworn without affirming 
the rightfulnes of slaver^^, and that to maintain the contrar}^ 
involved the penalty of two years of hard labor. Nor was 
this all. It further decreed, that if any one should print 
or circulate any writing against slavery, he should be im- 
prisoned four years ; if any one gave shelter to a fugitive 
slave, the same punishment was to be inflicted on him ; if a 
person afforded aid or concealment to him, it was death ; if 
he stirred up slaves to insurrection it was death, and if he 
refused to swear to support the Fugitive Slave Law, he was 
to be disfranchized. 

It was these as well as other barbarities on God's people, 
that so much raised the just indignation of the illustrious 
Sumner, and made him pour forth these words of caustic 
eloquence — " In truth, we are all included in the common 
title of men, as spaniels, lapdogs, mastiffs, and bloodhounds, 
are included in the common name of dogs.'' It is true that 
two days afterwards, he suffered, at the hand of Brooks, for 
this speech. Yet to-day he must feel in his soul that God 
has rewarded him for his " works of faith and labors of love." 

Slavery had now attained to its zenith. Acts of violence 
were rampant. Murders passed with impunity. The " Di- 



vine Institution of Slavery " was the question of the day. 
Party spirit had taken the place of "justice before the Law." 
It then became a question, as to who shall rule ? Shall the 
friends of Slavery be masters, or shall the Abolitionists ? 
Unfortunately the former had the better chance. In 1857 
Buchanan was elected President. He being neither cold nor 
hot, said to the Slave States, " Keep your Slaves, the Consti- 
tution permits it;" and to the Free States, "Don't meddle 
with the Slaves, the Constitution forbids it;" and to the 
New States, " Vote as you please, I confide in the ballot-box, 
the American remedy, ahvays sure to redress all wrongs." 
Guided by these principles, President Buchanan remained in 
the White House during his term of four years, and neither 
upheld the dignity of the North, nor yet interfered with the 
" domestic institution of the Southy 

In 1860, Lincoln was elected President, and on the 20th 
of December following the election, Gov. Pickens, of South 
Carolina, issued his famous (rather infamous) proclamation 
of secession from the Federal Union. This was the begin- 
ning of the war, over whose results we are now rejoicing. 
Upon the installation of President Lincoln in 1861, he em- 
phatically said in his inaugural address, " I have no design 
for interfering, either directly or indirectly, with the institu- 
tion of Slavery in the States where it exists. I believe that 
I have no right, and I feel no wish to do so." But God had 
already determined to destroy Slavery, and so before he did 
so. He first infatuated the Slaveholders. Had South Caro- 
lina not declared the civil war, had Grant not taken com- 
mand of the Union Army, and had Sumner not worried 
the very life of Lincoln out of him, it is a question whether 
the sons of Ham to-day, would be able to sing, 

" My country, 'tis of thee, 
Sweet land of liberty, 
Of thee I sing," &c. 

But God has brought order out of confusion. Freedom 
has succeeded slavery ; and now, not only are four millions 
of men and women — who once were down-trodden and op- 
pressed under the iron foot of the monster, who were forced 
to fields of unrequited tasks, like beasts of burden, and flogged 



10 

and tortured with relentless cruelty, on the most frivolous 
pretences — but the whole world have to gaze with wonder, 
at the operations of Divine Providence. But ten years ago, 
the Negro had no rights which a white man was bound to 
respect; to-day our Government can say, as Cowper said 
of England : 

" Slaves cannot breathe in England — if their lungs 
Receive our air, that moment they are free ; 
They touch our country, and their shackles fall." 

Magnitude of the Work accomplished. 

Not only is the Abolition of Slavery a cause for wonder, 
but the change which has since that time come over society, 
may well make us exclaim, " What hath God wrought ! " 
Ten years ago the South, as a whole, was the Sodom of the 
United States. All classes were addicted to the most shame- 
ful profligacy. Marriage was not respected ; and in some 
cases it was not known. But how great the change which 
has come over that part of the land. Now concubinage and 
miscegenation may not be practised without mutual agree- 
ment ; these acts have now become dishonorable, while mar- 
riage holds its place among the ancient " honorables," and 
family ties, and hallowed associations, are esteemed as bless- 
ings which no man may put asunder. 

Ten years ago the masses of the people were sunk in the 
grossest superstition, and enveloped in the densest mental 
darkness. They had no Bibles, no Sabbath schools, and some 
of the professed ministers of religion among them were the 
most obdurate-hearted Neroes of modern times. 

How changed is the state of things to-day ! We have 
superstition, and ignorance and profligacy still, it is true, 
but may we not say, thank God ! we have no longer a com- 
munit}', a part of which cannot read the Bible, freehj and 
openly ! Too many profane God's holy day in idleness, and 
sloth, and dissipation, but this may not be so ; we are not 
under any obligation now, to labor on Sundays. America is 
not a paradise ; its pco})lc arc not angels ; iniquity still 
abounds ; the love of many has waxen cold ; and many walk, 
of whom we tell you often that they are the enemies of the 



11 

cross of Christ, But we bless God America is no longer 
what she once was — a slave-cursed spot. Truly, brethren, 
in the review of the past ten years, we may wonderingly ex- 
claim, " What hath God wrought ! " And as gratefully add, 
" The Lord has done great things for us, whereof we are 
glad. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good ; for 
his mercy endureth forever." 

How Slavery teas aholisJwd. True philanthropy is actu- 
ated by the same compassionate feelings of Him who " was 
sent to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the 
captives, to set at liberty them that are bound." Wherever 
it exists, like the Gospel, it becomes the foe of every kind of 
bondage. Wheresoever it comes, it seeks to emancipate from 
every yoke. It has a natural and an implacable antipathy to 
oppression, and cannot live in the same atmosphere with 
slavery. No sooner does it find a place in the heart of man 
than the conflict begins. A struggle is inevitable. The doom 
of slavery is sealed, for the war will never cease, till slavery 
receives its death-blow, and lies prostrate at the feet of its 
glorious conqueror. So it was in America. Little did 
Garrison and his colleagues think, when they initiated the 
Anti-Slavery movements within these very walls,"^ that they 
were then commencing an attack, which first of all would so 
provoke slavery to hostility and arms, that a battle must be 
commenced in Boston. Little did John Brown know that 
the movement for which he paid dear with his life, would 
wax hotter and hotter until Slavery was no more — until the 
fell monster, with its whips and chains, its manacles and 
bloodhounds, and every other instrument of torture was 
buried, never, jievcr, never to rise again. No not even at 
the resurrection ! Ah ! little did Wendell Phillips think 
that the very crowd, which caused him to slip through the 
back alley of this Church, would, in less than ten years, ask 
concerning this people, once oppressed, hit now free forever — 
" What hath God wrousrht ! " 



* The Anti-Slavery movement in Boston was first started in Joy Street 
Church, then known as the African Church. 



12 



Grand Problems worked out. 

Slavery abolished, many of its kindred abominations began 
at once to give way. Ostracism and prejudice began to be 
regarded as relics of the past. Railroads and Steamboats, 
and Stage coaches, began to throw open their doors to every 
passenger who desires an entrance ; and ever since the fall 
of Richmond, the work of Reform and Reconstruction has 
moved with quick, yet steady step ; until recently it has cul- 
minated in the passage, ratification, and proclamation of the 
Fifteenth Amendment to the Federal Constitution. 

What it Recognizes. 

It simply renders nugatory all those State laws, which 
have for their object the fostering and perpetuation of dis- 
tinctions among men, " on account of race, color, or previous 
condition of servitude." It puts a check upon that sove- 
reignty of State, which alloAvs each State to order its own 
affairs, after its own fashion. It converts four millions of 
men into legal voters, against the wishes of many who hate 
the idea of " having all things common," with negroes. It is 
the most gigantic blow, yet dealt, to the offsprings of slavery. 
It is the most practical way of assenting to what Jefferson 
affirmed in 1787, viz. : that " all men are created equal," &c. 
It is the noblest enactment, yet placed in the Statute Book 
of any nation, past or present. Hitherto the world has had 
but seven wonders, according to the popular saying, but 
henceforth this shall take its place among the wonders of 
the world. " It is centralization, consolidation, what you 
will, triumphant ; and it is the noblest assertion of the doc- 
trine of human equality, of the rights of man, that has ever 
been made among men." Well has the President, in his 
communication to Congress, observed that, " The measure 
which makes at once four millions of the people voters, who 
were heretofore declared, by the highest tribunal in the 
land, not citizens of the United States, nor eligible to become 
so, with the assertion that, at the time of the Declaration of 
Independence, the opinion was fixed and universal among 
the civilized portion of the wliitc race, and regarded as an 



13 



axiom in morals as well as in politics, that black men had 
no rio-hts which white men were bomid to respect, is nideed 
a measure of grander importance than any other act ot the 
kind, from the foundation of our free Government to the 
present time." 

Manhood of the Negro. 

Ten years ago it was a problem, strange and ignorant as 
it may seem to us now, with many of the (so-called) wise 
men of the country, whether the Negro were a man? In the 
proo-ress of the work of Freedom and Reconstruction God 
has not only vindicated the manhood of his people but has 
raised some of his once oppressed anddown trodden ones 
to an equality of social and political rights with the most 
favored of the sons of the land. To-day, a Revels occupies 
not onlv the same position with Sumner, but sits in the very 
seat of Jeff. Davis, whom God destroyed, having first iniatu- 
ated him. "What shall we then say to these things, my 
brethren '? " If God be for us, who can be against us I i He 
avenues to political honors and social distinction are now 
open: and now we and ours can rejoice at the glorious 
prospects that lie before us. Henceforth no man may expect 
to be elected to of&ce because of the accidence of color, nor 
shall any be kept therefrom on account of previous condition 
of servitude. The flaming sword wlii^^h hitherto has guarded 
the entrance to the citadel of West Point has been sheathed, 
no more shall it leap forth, to obstruct the sons of sable hue, 
in their attempt to enter there. - Tlhat hath God wrought! 

Safety of Emancipation. 
Before the War it used to be said that Negroes were not 
fit for freedom; and that the result of Emancii3ation would 
be bloodshed ind anarchy. The behavior of /he ^oloi^d 
people generally, since their freedom, has placed these 
Affirmations in the volume of errors and ""f "thi.dness. No 
people outlawed and wronged as we have been, ^ou d have 
been so ready and willing to exercise forgiveness towaids 
thei^' enen.ies, in so short a time ; we have been patient in 



14 

tribulation; we have been given to hospitality; we have 
blessed them which persecuted us; we have recompensed to 
r.o man evil for evil ; we have endeavored, by every possi- 
bility of means, to live peaceably with all men ; we have not 
avenged ourselves, but rather given place to wrath ; we have 
committed the taking of vengeance on our enemies to the 
Lord ; we have fed our enemies ; we have given them drink; 
we have already heaped coals of fire on their heads, by not 
being overcome of evil, but by overcoming evil with good. 
We have shown by our industry and honesty that we are 
men and not monkeys, and by the millions of dollars we have 
already deposited in the Freedmen's National Bank at 
Washington, as well as by our gradual acquisition of pro- 
perty, we can now defy our traducers to prove our unfitness 
for the enjoyment of freedom, and the rights of citizens. 
We do not desire to boast, yet we say, without fear of con- 
tradiction, that we are the most docile, and peaceful, the 
most humble and merciful — yea, the very best people God ever 
made. 

Capability of the Negro for Education. 

It used to be said that it was impossible to educate the 
Negro ; that it was useless to seek his social elevation and 
intellectual improvement ; that he was incapable of attaining 
to the refinement and civilization of the Anglo-Saxon race. 
The work of social reform and progress, we admit, is only 
in its first and incipient stage ; and much, very much, re- 
mains to be accomplished. But the Negro has been educa- 
ted ; he has been taken from some of the lowest positions in 
the social scale, and lifted up, at least, to positions of honor 
and respectability. And now let him who can gainsay this, 
henceforth speak of the Negro's incapability to exercise those 
social and political rights, which the Fifteenth Amendment 
confers upon him as an American citizen ; but if he cannot 
do this, then let \\\v[\ forever hold his peace. 

Brethren, we are now a people. Our manhood is recogniz- 
ed, our freedom won, our rights acknowledged. We are a 
peo[)le advancing in the accpiisition of material wealth, pos- 
sessing land, and house?, and all the comforts of this life. 



15 

We are a people living under Gospel institutions, blessed 
" with every spiritual blessing in heavenly things in Christ 
Jesus." Yea, more, some of us ore the ycople of God, chosen 
and called in Christ Jesus ; once afar off, but now made 
nigh by the blood of Christ ; once strangers and foreigners, 
but now fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household 
of God. Truly, the Lord of hosts is wonderful in counsel, 
and excellent in working. " The Lord executeth righteous- 
ness and judgment for all that are oppressed." " give 
thanks unto the Lord, call upon his name, make known his 
deeds among the people. Sing unto Him, sing psalms unto 
Him; talk ye of all his wondrous works I" "Remember his 
marvellous works that He hath done, his wonders, and the 
judgments of his mouth." 

Our Indebtedness to God. 

But again, are we not forcibly reminded of this fact, that 
our present blessings are owing neither to our own merits, 
nor to the might of our own hands ? How solemnly was 
this lesson enjoined on the Israelites ! " Speak not thou in 
thine heart, saying, ' For my righteousness the Lord hath 
brought me in to possess this land,' understand that the 
Lord giveth thee not this land to possess it for thy right- 
eousness ; for thou art a stiff-necked people." And so again, 
when the Psalmist commemorated the entrance of Israel on 
their promised inheritance, he sings, " They got not the land 
in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm 
save them ; but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light 
of thy countenance, because thou hadst favor unto them." 

All blessings are of Grace ! Brethren, it is not by works 
of righteousness which we have done, but according to his 
mercy hath God saved us. This is the fundamental principle 
of all the bestowments of his grace. And the same princi- 
ple lies at the basis of all the beneficent arrangements and 
operations of his Providence. And what of merit or of 
miglit can we plead, for either the personal liberty, or the 
social and political rights, or the gospel privileges which we 
this day enjoy? Did our forefathers come to these shores 
of their own free will and accord ? Nay ! They were brought 



16 

here by force, bound hand and foot with fetters of iron. 
Was it by any inclination of theirs, that our Sumners, our 
Phillipses, our Garrisons, our Grants and our martyred 
hosts gained us these privileges ? Assuredly not ! These 
friends of humanity — angels of mercy — arose to the duties 
of the moment, from the conviction created on their minds, 
by the Spirit of God, as to their relations to mankind. Was 
it in any sense by his own might that our valiant General 
led his army against that of the Confederacy, and eventually 
gained us that victory, than which a greater has never been 
achieved ? No, brethren, no ! " Thine Lord is the great- 
ness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory ! " The 
Abolition of Slavery, and the enactment of the Fifteenth 
Amendment, are the operations of Divine Providence. Talk 
no more of merit therefore. Plead this no longer as a 
ground for the bestowment and enjoyment of these or any 
other blessings ! What merit ! In poor, helpless, down- 
trodden, and oppressed men and women ! Merit, in poor, 
miserable offenders ! Blot the word out of your dictionary, 
Christians ! No, brethren, no, we have neither might nor 
merit to plead, and ascribing all glory to God, and to his 
grace, with Moses and Israel, let us sing, " Thou in thy 
mercy hast led forth thy people which thou hast redeemed ; 
Thou hast guided them in thy strength, unto thy holy habi- 
tation." 

God's Cause stronger than its Foes. 
For many years the friends of Freedom were persecuted 
and marked. Once Garrison barely escaped, with his life 
in hand. John Brown was murdered at Harper's Ferry ; 
Sumner's blood was spilled, and Lincoln assassinated, be- 
cause of their interest in the work of Emancipation. Every 
thing that could be done by our enemies, to keep us in 
degradation was done ; and all who sympathized with us, 
became, and arc to this day, objects of hatred and malignity. 
Were it possible to have banished these men, it would have 
been done. But God was on our side. No sooner did the 
crisis of the conflict come, than room was no longer left to 
doubt wliich would conquer — right or wrong, light or dark- 



17 

ness, Christ or Belial. From that moment the doom of 
Slavery was sealed. And though the blood of martyrs has 
been shed, yet God gave us the victory at length; and 
to-day our very enemies are exclaiming, " What hath God 
wrought ! " And so must it ever be ; for " Christ must reign 
till He hath put all enemies under his feet." 

The Work before us. 

And how encouraging is this in its application to the work 
yet before us. There is land in the South to be possessed 
and cultivated. In some parts of it superstition is yet ram- 
pant. The work of educating our people is just begun. 
Reactionary influences have followed the sweet impulses of 
Emancipation. A disposition is seen, now and again, to 
blend with Christianity the absurdities of heathenism ; and 
the Revival (so-culled) has been perverted by the Devil, into 
practices, which substitute animal excitement, and nocturnal 
orgies, for the religion of Jesus, and which often run into 
the wildest extravagances of licentious fanaticism. And 
just as there remained in Canaan many of the old fogies, to 
be thorns in the side of Israel, and as a scourge to afflict 
them, so many of the social evils of slavery and ignorance 
still remain amongst us, to afflict and grieve us, and to hinder 
and oppose our efforts for the moral and spiritual progress 
of the people. The devil is not dead. And though the char- 
acters and tactics of the warfare are changed, the conflict 
with evil has yet to be maintained. In the present warfare, 
moreover, there is none of the romance and excitement of 
the past ; and in some respects it is confessedly more ardu- 
ous and discouraging. Yet, brethren, let us remember that 
we have the same Almighty power on our side — that the 
war we wage against sin and ignorance, and in favor of 
truth and righteousness, is a continuance of the very contest 
in which God and Christ have proved victorious — and there- 
fore that future triumph is not less certain than past con- 
quest. 

Let us never be discouraged ; let us be strong in faith, 
giving glory to God. Let us be grateful to the giver of 

3 



every good and perfect gift. Let us strive to live lives of 
devotedness to God. Let us this day consecrate ourselves 
anew to Jesus. 

Oh, let me speak to those of you, who have lived till now, 
without God and without hope in Jesus. Let this season 
of jubilation witness the dedication of yourselves to God ! 
How much have you received from Him. What have you 
that you do not owe to Him? Oh! think how basely wicked 
will be your ingratitude if you remain alienated, and at a 
distance from Him. Acquaint yourselves with God. Be 
reconciled to Him, by the death of his Son, and now come 
present your bodies unto God, " a living sacrifice, holy, accep- 
table, which is your reasonable service." 

And how stirring is the appeal made to those of you who 
profess to be the followers of Christ ! 

Li the History of the Primitive Church, we read that 
when for a season the persecutions of the Roman Empire 
against the Christians were stayed, one of the melancholy 
effects of the tranquillity enjoyed was a general and spiritual 
declension. And what has been the effect on the Church, 
during the last six years ? Oh ! how many seem to have 
lost their first love ! In how many does the spirit of the 
world seem to have taken the place of the Spirit of Christ ! 
Where is our self sacrificing love to Christ ? Whither has 
our self-denying liberality taken its flight ? Where is our 
love to the means of grace, and the ordinances of religion, 
which used to impel us to the prayer-meeting and fill the 
house of God to overflowing with earnest worshippers? 
Where is that zeal for Christ and for the conversion of sin- 
ners, which characterized our fathers, when, in the dead of 
night, they walked from house to house, hailing men to the 
cross ? Oh ! brethren, amidst all our mercies there is much 
to mourn over. Repent, and do your first works. Renew 
your consecration to God. Sanctify afresh the Lord God 
in your hearts ; and so shall you show your gratitude for 
the mercies with which you are so bountifully blessed. 

Brethren, bear with me, if I speak too plainly. Let us 
remember, that while our friends are to-day looking with 



19 



pleasure on our past, they are also looking with anxiety to 
the future. What if Young America should disappoint the 
expectations of their friends ? What if liberty should be 
abused into licentiousness ? What if our young men, in- 
stead of acting with the suavity and manliness of freemen 
should put on the conceited and intolerable airs of the cox- 
comb, and make dress tlie gentleman and the scholar, and 
leave the reputation and the intellect to a mere chance of 
fate ? What if our young women, instead of cultivating that 
modesty, which becomcth women, should delight to bedeck 
themselves in gay and flaunting attire, even beyond their 
hard-earned means ? What if the Sabbath, instead of ]3cincr 
regarded as holy to the Lord and honorable, should be pro°- 
faned in idleness and dissipation ? What if the Bible, God's 
holy word, instead of being bowed to and obeyed, as an 
mfalli^ble guide and authority, should be forsaken for the 
cunning fables of designing men ? Oh ! brethren, this would 
be indeed to abuse our past mercies and present privileges 
—this would be base ingratitude. It is rigjiteousuess that 
has exalted you, but such a sin would be a reproach to you 
and It would be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah 
in the day of judgment, than for this generation. 

But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of vou, though 
we thus speak J and we earnestly beseech you to' show your 
gratitude for past and present mercies, by being "diligent in 
business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord." And° while 
we are rejoicing over our present achievements, let us not 
forget poor, benighted Cuba. While we are enjoying gos- 
pel privileges, and hailing with gratitude the gloriotis'^act 
which secures to us the right of citizens'; while we are inhaling 
the salubrious atmosphere of a free government, possessed 
of every facility for advancing in the scale of civilization, 
poor Cuba, 

" Where every prospect pleases 
And only man is vile," 

is groaning and bleeding in her wretchedness. The very 

people whose blood flows in our veins— who in a special 

and peculiar sense are bone of our bone and flesh of our 

^esh— this venj jjeople are not only sitting in darkness, but 

are ground down to the dust on the one hand, by idolatrous 



20 

Rome, and on the otlier hand are the victims still of the ac- 
cursed slave trade. Their case was once yours, and but for 
the mercy of God would be so still. Oh pity them. Pray 
for them ! Pray to God that he would give them the 
victory over their oppressors. Show your gratitude by 
manifesting sympathy with the Cubans. Oh may the day 
soon dawn, when of Cuba as of America, it shall be said : — 

" Black, white, and bond and free, 

Castes and proscriptions cease ! 
The Neo;ro wakes to liberty, 

The Negro sleeps in peace ! 
Head the great charter on his brow, 

' I am a man, a brother now.' " 

Brethren, take courage, take heart, look onward and up- 
ward. The road is yet rough, the cross is still heavy ; the 
wound is still sore ; the brunt may yet be hard, the battle 
may be more bloody ; the enemy doubly strong ; but the path 
shall soon grow smoother; the yoke shall soon become 
easier ; the wound shall soon be healed with the balm of 
Gilead ; the brunt shall soon be relieved as the tug of war 
veers round in your favor ; the enemy shall ere long take to 
flight. It will soon be day-light. 

" The morning light is breaking, 
The darkness disappears." 

Fight on ; hold on ; push on ; stand by the Ensign ; keep 
behind the shield ; wield well the sword ; " let no man take 
your crown." 

A little longer. Christians, and the path shall glitter with 
jewels, and every briar bear a rose of immortality. A little 
longer and the myrtle groves shall welcome you with their fra- 
grance ; and the white robed host shall cheer you with their 
songs. And in their soul-cheering society, will you truly 
exclaim; " What hath God wrought ! " 



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